ATP Exec Chair & President BRAD DREWETT, who announced in January he suffered from ALS, has died, according to the tennis organization. "Sadly, the news is true,” an ATP spokesperson said, confirming a post RAFAEL NADAL had put on his Facebook page Friday morning. The 54-year-old Drewett, a former player and longtime administrator, became a compromise candidate to take the reins of the ATP in January '12. He immediately embarked on a goal of dramatically increasing the percentage of pay players got from the four Grand Slam tournaments, which paid levels far below that of other team sports. He lived long enough to see the fruits of that success, with all four now committed to dramatic increases. The ATP is in the midst of replacing him, with two internal candidates -- LAURENT DELANNEY and MARK YOUNG -- the only candidates at this time. Drewett was instrumental in spearheading the ATP’s efforts in Asia, and in running the successful season-ending championships in London. Following Drewett's ALS revelation, he kept busy with the ATP, even spending two weeks at the Sony Open in March.
